Christmas At The Potters'
by pinkpearl89
Summary: A little fluff about Lily and James on their 7th year Christmas. I went back in time for my chapter story, Unforgettable,and filled in a blank that I had left. Please read and review! One-shot


Hello everyone!

I decided to fill in the Christmas from my longer story, Unforgettable, since I didn't really write out the whole thing in there. So for those of you who have read my other story, some of this will be recognizable (in fact, there are parts that I just copied and pasted because I didn't want to change his present for her, which I thought was really cute). It fits right into Unforgettable, so I hope that anyone who's read it will see how it works. Still, it's fine as just a one-shot, I think. Please give me your thoughts!

**Disclaimer: I'm putting it at the end, and please don't read it until you get to the end.**

I hope you like it! And please review :)

xxxxx

"Do you like it?" I asked her softly.

"Of course," she said, giving me a beautiful smile and laughing softly. "It's beautiful. But it doesn't matter if _I_ like it, James, this is your house."

I smiled. "Of course it matters, silly."

"Really? And why's that?"

I touched my forehead to hers and looked deep into her eyes.

"Because it's going to be yours someday," I murmured softly. "That is, if you want it. Or if you want _me_, for that matter, I'm afraid the house comes with me though, as part of the James Potter package, but if you'd rather not have me—"

She cut me off with a kiss.

"James? It's a beautiful house. But maybe we should wait on the marriage thing until we've been dating for more than a month."

"Oh, but it's already been five weeks! That's more than a—"

She cut me off with another kiss. I think that's supposed to be annoying, but really, a bloke could get used to this.

"Maybe a little longer then. But James?" I opened my eyes to let her know I was paying attention. "I fancy you."

I grinned. "Fantastic. I don't think I'll ever get sick of hearing that."

"Really?" She said, pretending to frown, "Well, if I'd known _that_ it would have been easier to find you a Christmas present."

I laughed. "You're wonderful, Lily."

She smiled and hugged me. "Good. Where have the rest of the Marauders gotten to? I thought we were all spending Christmas with your parents?"

"Erm…well," I started and rumpled my hair, a little worried that I hadn't warned her before, "They're not coming until tomorrow."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh?"

I felt my face turning a bit red. "Well, my…umm…parents actually wanted a dinner with just you, tonight…and…umm…"

She let out a breath. "So it's just you, me, and your parents tonight?"

I nodded.

She breathed deeply again. "I really wish you had warned me, James."

So do I. "Don't worry, they're going to love you. I've been talking about you for the past six years, I mean, they practically know you already."

"Not helping, James."

I didn't know what to say, so I gave her a soft kiss. It seemed to calm her a bit. "Don't worry, sweetheart, you're going to blow them away."

I couldn't help but smile at her expression. She looked like a nervous little kid. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Come on," I said, leading her by the hand into the kitchen where I could tell the smells were. Nutmeg and duck wafted through the doorway.

"James!" Magdalynn called from one of the many stoves, "You're home! Ah, and I trust that the redhead is Lily Evans!"

I sensed Lily's blush.

I grinned. "You don't miss a thing, Mag. Now, what are you cooking tonight? It has to be good because I'm trying to convince Lily to marry me and live in this beautiful house."

"Duck for the main and Buche du Noel for desert," Mag said, giving Lily a smile.

I pouted purely for Mag's benefit. "Oh, but you know my favorite is steak and apple pie!"

"Which is exactly why I didn't make it! This girl is bound to have better tastes than you, James."

I couldn't help but laugh. Mag was real with me, and I loved that about her. It was like having a second mum and a best friend rolled into one. "Alright, Mag, you win."

"I'll make it for you tomorrow, baby, don't worry."

I grinned. "Thanks, Mag. Where's everyone else?" I asked, looking around the kitchen for her helpers. "Did they leave you here all alone to cook tonight?"

"I gave them the night off."

"Do you need any help then? Lily, why don't you go into the dining room and sit down, sweetheart?"

"No, no, I want to help too. Well, I know I'm not much of a cook, but I can wash and fetch ingredients for you if you like," Lily offered.

"No, beautiful, I want you to relax, now go right through that door to the dining room and—"

"James Potter! The poor girl obviously doesn't want to leave when she'll get lost in this castle! Here, dear," Mag said, conjuring up a chair, "Take a seat and let your beau do all the work for you tonight."

Lily settled and gave Mag a smile. I couldn't help but grin at that. Hopefully my parents will make her comfortable just as quickly.

xxxxx

"Well, Lily," Mum said, fixing her with a politely interested stare. "James has told us so much about you."

Lily blushed but tried to joke, "Oh, I hope he hasn't told you _all_ about me."

Mum cottoned-on quickly and smiled. "All good, dear, not to worry. Although," she added in afterthought as her gaze shifted to me, "I'm sure you could tell us a few stories about James. I'm sure he doesn't even know what 'best behavior' means!"

"Well that'll be because you tried so hard to drill the phrase into his head, Rose," Dad told her, smiling. "The poor boy had to block it out for his own sanity."

I grinned into my soup. I don't think Mum really knows that Dad used to help me pull pranks all the time.

In fact, I'm sure she doesn't know. If she did, she'd lose it.

Although, that might be funny to see.

Another day though…it is Christmas Eve, after all. She should get the day off. And I don't want to get the house-elves in trouble since I'm sure she told them to be on the lookout for anything tonight.

"So tell us, Lily, what are your favorite classes? James is quite fond of transfiguration," Dad said, giving Lily a comforting smile.

Judging by her nervous, pale face, she wasn't all that comforted. I slipped my hand into hers under the table.

"Well," she said, taking a deep breath, "James actually helps me with transfiguration," she blushed a lovely pink at that admission, "but my best subjects are potions and charms."

"Really?" Dad said, excited, "I quite liked potions myself when I was a lad. You know, I was actually a year or two above Horace Slughorn? Let me tell you, he was just the same, even then…"

I spent the rest of the evening watching Lily relax as Dad told her stories about old Sluggie's schooldays, with Mum chiming in here and there. By the time we moved to the parlor, she was laughing and telling them her own stories about his dinner parties and the Christmas party we had just gone to a day before the holiday break.

It's great to see her having fun with them, especially since she gave up Christmas with her family to spend it with mine.

xxxxx

Thank Merlin that everything went well with Mum and Dad. I was a little worried that it might be awkward, but everything worked out alright.

I snuck into Lily's room at about midnight. We had gone to separate rooms for my parents' benefit, but I knew she wouldn't be able to sleep without me, just like I couldn't even close my eyes without her in my arms.

I swear I love that girl so much it's going to be the death of me someday. Lily Evans doesn't take up more and more room in my heart. She has my whole heart and she keeps making it bigger. I can't find any limit to how much I love her.

Which is exactly why I need her sleeping next to me.

"Lily?" I whispered, "Sweetheart, can you hear me?"

A lamp flickered on and revealed the large bed in the middle of the room. "James? Merlin, I thought you were going to leave me all alone tonight!" She whispered back.

Now that I could see the bed, I made my way over and climbed in. "Of course not, sweetheart, you know I can't sleep without you close."

She smiled, and I couldn't help but smile in response. I gave her a soft kiss and wrapped my arms around her. "You ready to sleep, now?"

"Yes," she murmured, snuggling closer. "I'm _exhausted_."

A few minutes later she murmured, "James?"

"Hmmm?"

"It would be wonderful…to live here with you, I mean."

I grinned. "We'll see if you still say that in the morning, love, after you've had a proper night's rest."

I felt her smile against my shoulder. "Okay, love."

xxxxx

I woke to the feel of Lily's warm lips on mine.

"Wake up, James, it's time for breakfast."

I've never had a better alarm clock in my life.

I rolled over, trapping her in my arms when she tried to get up.

"James," she said again, sounding a bit annoyed, "Come on, they can't find us in the same bed."

"Five more minutes," I said, wrapping my arms around her tightly. "Please?"

"Alright," she sighed, not entirely unwilling. "But get off, I can barely breathe."

"How do you think I feel every day?" I asked, pulling her onto my chest as I rolled onto my back.

She slapped my shoulder. "I'm not that heavy!"

I grinned, but didn't answer.

"I'm not!" She repeated adamantly.

"Oh! I have something for you before we go downstairs, sweetheart," I told her, suddenly awake and excited.

"What's that?" She asked, curious in spite of herself.

I snuck back to my room and came back a moment later with her Christmas present in my hands.

"Happy Christmas, sweetheart," I said, handing it to her.

She lit up like a child and unwrapped it right there on the bed.

"Oh, James! That's so swee—is this a stuffed reindeer?"

"What's a reindeer?" I asked, confused.

She looked up at me, seeming to remember something. "Sorry," she said, "Muggle Christmas story, forget about it. But really, if this isn't a reindeer…um…I mean, it's lovely, James…"

"It's a stag," I told her softly. That wasn't her real present, it was just a symbol, after all.

"A stag?" She asked, confused. I grinned and took a step back.

"Stay on the bed," I warned her, "I have to show you something."

With a soft pop, I transformed for her.

She looked at me, a bit startled at first, but soon I could only see wonder.

"James, I…" she seemed to be at a loss for words. "You're _beautiful_."

She reached out from the bed, and I moved a bit closer so that she could stroke my nose softly. A shiver ran through me in delight and I turned back into a human. She stared at me, jaw dropped in wonder.

I chuckled softly. "So, what do you think?"

She beckoned me back onto the bed, then kissed me deeply. She touches my soul, that girl does.

As usual, she pulled away much too soon. "You get more amazing every day, James Potter."

I grinned and pecked her lips softly. "Those words were the best Christmas present you could have given me."

"Really?" She asked slyly, "So you don't want this then?"

Out of thin air she conjured a rather large, oblong box. Wrapped perfectly, might I add. Definitely a better wrapper than I am.

"Only if you give me another kiss," I teased, puckering up.

She just laughed. "Come on, now, open it!"

I took the package from her and ripped off the wrapping paper, but all that revealed was a plain box. I looked inside—

"A COMET 360! Thanks, Lils!"

She didn't answer because I had pummeled her onto the bed, showering her in kisses. I suppose she was trying to breathe between the fits of giggles.

"Alright, alright," she said, gasping for air and trying to push me away. "Time to let Lily breathe before she tries to go downstairs and pretend to your parents that she wasn't on their son's bed, snogging."

"May I point out," said a very familiar voice from the doorway, "that this is technically _your_ bed, Miss Lily, as the two of you are in guest room number three at the moment."

"Sirius!" I shouted, granting Lily's wish for air by running to the door and pummeling him instead. Unfortunately for poor Sirius, he didn't have a fluffy mattress to fall on. He fell on the cold, hard, marble floor.

xxxxx

"We took the second train out, just like you told us to, Mrs. Potter," Remus answered politely.

"Very good, Remus, dear, I knew you'd keep them in line," Mum told him, smiling as she helped Winnie serve the scrambled eggs.

"Sit down, both of you," Dad said, helping himself to the eggs, despite Winnie's protests.

"Oh no, sir," little Winnie said, "Winnie must serve Master Potter first, then she will go and eat with the other house-elves, sir."

"Nonsense, Winnie—"

"Go ahead, Winnie, I've got it covered here," Mum cut her off, waving Winnie away.

"Yes, Mistress Potter," she said, disapparating with a crack.

"Is she going to eat?" Lily asked me in a concerned whisper.

I nodded, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll show you their quarters later. Mum lets them think they're getting their way, but she still makes them dine like Potters."

She still looked a little concerned when she reached for the toast, but that will be quickly remedied once I get the chance to show her the basement where the house-elves live.

"Peter sends his apologies, Mum and Dad," Sirius said before tucking in to the heaping plate in front of him. "His Mum insisted that he spend Christmas morning and breakfast, at least, with his own family. He's not sure if they'll let him escape today, but he hopes to come spend some time with you tomorrow."

Remus nodded, "He was so excited to come, but it was a last minute change…"

"Not to worry, not to worry," Dad said, taking a second helping of breakfast greens, "We understand parents wanting to see their children over the holiday, now don't we, Rose? Perfectly fine."

"Of course, nothing to worry about," Mum agreed, "Can I help anyone to anything else?"

After trying to get everyone to have third helpings of everything, Mum finally let us retire to one of the sitting rooms, where she had a tree for each of us with piles of presents underneath. I nearly laughed when I saw that she had matched the wrapping paper to the tree ornaments, and that each tree was color-coded. Mine was green, as she knows that's my favorite color.

Lily sat down next to me, not knowing what to do with herself, and I chuckled slightly. "The red one is yours, love," I murmured into her ear, kissing her cheek softly.

Her eyes widened as she took in the presents under the red tree. "All those are for me?"

I nodded and whispered, "If I'm not mistaken, I believe Mum decided that you needed a whole new wardrobe. She always wanted a little girl to dress, so play along, yeah?"

Lily nodded mutely, eyes still wide as she stared at the large pile of gifts. Then she turned to me, "Now I'm really glad that I bought your parents that Waterford vase. Wizards know what Waterford is, right?"

I chuckled again. "Yeah."

"Good," she sighed in relief.

I nudged her over to her tree when Mum and Dad came in from the breakfast room, and watched as she opened her presents. I was right, Mum did get her a whole new wardrobe. About twenty minutes later she was practically swimming in a sea of cashmere sweaters, wool crepe trousers and skirts, and three new, thick wool coats. That was beside the pieces of costume jewelry that Mum had deemed 'absolutely essential to complete the ensemble.'

Lily was utterly flabbergasted, I could tell. I don't think she's entirely used to the idea of someone having so much money that they buy their son's girlfriend a whole new wardrobe for Christmas. Although, they know that I've been obsessed with her for ages. Or, at least Dad does, and I imagine he probably told Mum when I asked to bring Lily

home.

Lily was busy trying to thank them when I dove into my own pile of presents. Mostly more quidditch gear, and another Comet 360. I'm keeping Lily's though. Definitely more sentimental. But Sirius got one too, so I can't give it to him. Maybe I'll give it to Remus, that way he can fly with us sometimes.

"Mum, where are you going?" I asked, looking up from my pile of unwrapped presents.

"Well now that you're finished, dears, I have to go over the final touches for the ball this evening."

Mum noticed when Lily turned to me.

"He didn't tell you about the ball, did he?" She asked in a tone that suggested she already knew the answer. In all fairness, she did already know the answer.

"Erm, no," Lily admitted sheepishly.

"Not to worry dear, we'll get you something to wear. James I must have reminded you a million times to tell her about the ball."

"Sorry, Mum," I said, embarrassed, "We had other things on our mind."

"Well, we'll work something out, Lily, darling. If you like, the boys can take you to Madison's Spools, dear, in London, much safer than Diagon alley is at the moment…"

And there Mum goes again.

xxxxx

Sirius insisted on taking me to the shop alone, as he wanted James to be _surprised_ when he saw me. Honestly, I don't know what could possibly be so surprising about me, but I decided to let Sirius have his fun.

We wandered into the shop and were quickly greeted by an overexcited shopkeeper.

"Good morning!" she said, rushing toward us, "What can I do for such a lovely young couple today? Seasonal parties, I presume?"

"Indeed, madame," Sirius said with a smile that made the poor woman pause for a moment, as he casually slung an arm around my shoulders. "My darling needs a Christmas dress for this evening."

"This evening?" The woman asked, confused. She looked at me to confirm that Sirius wasn't pulling her leg, and when I nodded I'm sure the nervousness on my face convinced her that he was serious. And so she quickly regained her composure. "The Potters' Christmas Ball? Well, you'll need only the best for that…"

She carried on as she pulled us to the back of the shop, talking about which fabrics would be unacceptable for the occasion and which should suit just right. To my surprise, Sirius had several opinions on the subject.

"If I may, madame," he interrupted her in the middle of her ramblings, "I was thinking to put her in an emerald satin silk, brings out her eyes and hair, you know, and I do want her to stand out from the crowd."

"Yes, yes," she agreed, looking me up and down, "I agree, emerald will do the most for her natural colors. I thought perhaps a burgundy or a deep purple—"

"I really would prefer the emerald," Sirius insisted.

"Well, then," she said, turning to a rack on the left side that was stuffed with emerald gowns, "Get into the fitting room, there, and we'll see how it goes…"

Sirius nodded me in, so I walked into the curtained room nervously, waiting for this woman who seemed to have an aversion to speaking directly to me. If it was up to me, I'd rather not buy from her. Although I suppose it's not my money we're spending, Mrs. Potter was quite adamant about that, and she did expressly say that she wanted me to buy from this shop.

A moment later she was bustling back in, carrying several gowns that she held out to me without speaking, making me try one on and shrinking it to fit. Then she held back the curtain and I assumed that she wanted me to show Sirius.

He shook his head. "If it's all the same to you, madame," he said, "I would rather that she didn't wear a ballgown. I don't want her to look like a novice."

"A slimmer cut then?" The woman asked, "Mermaid, perhaps, with a bit of lace?"

"Absolutely no lace," Sirius said, his voice left no room for bargaining. "And I should prefer a princess-cut to a mermaid, I'd like her to be able to dance as well."

After she found a gown which reached Sirius's approval, we paid and left the shop.

It was on the train back that he broached the subject again.

"Sorry I didn't give you much choice back at the shop, it's just…I wanted you to look your best for all these rich snobs. They really can be quite up themselves and I didn't want them to have any excuse to ridicule you or James."

To say that I was a bit startled by this might have been an understatement, but I was touched, all the same.

"Well…thanks, Sirius. That was really sweet of you."

He gave me his boyish grin. "Don't mention it. Just let James think you picked out your own dress. He goes crazy when he sees you in that emerald sweater."

I laughed. "Wow, and why did _you_ notice my emerald sweater?"

"Because emerald-sweater days usually coincide with James-has-a-vacant-expression-and-can't-talk days," he said.

We laughed together about it for a good five minutes.

The disgruntled stares that we got from the other passengers lasted until we got home.

xxxxx

I waited at the bottom of the stairs for her, hoping that she would be down soon. Remus and Sirius stood next to me, the latter kept smiling at all the pretty girls who were from out of the country. It'll be just my luck if he spots a French one and then spends the rest of the night telling me that same-language relationships were over-rated.

She finally reached the top of the stairs, and looked down at me. I smiled for her as soon as I was able to catch my breath.

That emerald was absolutely stunning. And her neck was bared, along with one shoulder. It was as though she was daring me to kiss it in front of everyone, because I definitely was not going to last until the end of the night.

When she reached me, I couldn't help myself. I had to touch her beautiful, bare skin.

"You're so beautiful," I whispered into her ear as I offered her my other hand, "Dance with me?"

She blushed and nodded, so I whirled her out onto the dance floor.

We danced there for a few hours, but I couldn't hold her close the way I wanted to with everyone watching, and I had had to glare at quite a few blokes who looked like they were about to cut-in. But I did let Sirius and Remus dance with her a few times. That was when Alice found me standing against the wall and pouting.

She thought it was hysterical, mind you.

I didn't.

But the point was that I finally gave in to what I wanted and pulled Lily away to another room, one that we could have all to ourselves. I pulled her as close as I needed her to be, and we danced, slowly revolving around the floor.

I lost myself then, and I think he did too. I found myself kissing softly along the curve of her neck, taking in her scent as though it was oxygen. I was a little annoyed that she had put on perfume, but if I got close enough to her skin I could still smell _her_, rather than that bottle Mum gave her this morning.

I don't know how long we danced there, wrapped up in each other. But eventually I realized that the music from the party had stopped, and that we had been dancing in the moonlight for quite a while with nothing to guide us.

But that's not why I stopped dancing. I stopped because I had suddenly bumped into something very solid. At first I thought it was the wall, but when I tried to move the other way I couldn't.

That's when I looked around, slightly brought back to reality by mild confusion. There were no walls anywhere, we were in the middle of the room.

But we couldn't move.

Lily looked around as well, then smiled and pointed up.

I grinned, seeing what she meant. How could I have forgotten?

"Mistletoe," she murmured softly, running her fingers through my hair, messing it up. And I had worked so hard to get it to lie flat for tonight.

"Mistletoe," I agreed, smiling down into her beautiful green eyes.

She reached up on her toes, and I bent a little, and our lips met in a wonderfully soft, sweet kiss.

We didn't bother to check to see if we were free until a few minutes later, but the walls had disappeared.

"Well, James," she said softly, "You're free to go, if you like."

I smiled, and pulled her into another soul-searing kiss.

xxxxx

I hope you liked it!

**Disclaimer: So I didn't want to ruin the last bit about the magical mistletoe by telling you in the beginning, but just so we're clear, that wasn't my idea.**

Please review! It would be like extra Christmas presents!


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